


The Start of Something New

by Your_Lady_Loki



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Corporal Punishment, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Discipline, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Slash, Spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-10 22:47:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15301722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Your_Lady_Loki/pseuds/Your_Lady_Loki
Summary: Nathan hasn't been taking care of himself and Warren's getting worried. After some thorough research, Warren has a plan to ensure Nathan realizes that he's not going to get away with it anymore.





	The Start of Something New

**Author's Note:**

> This was written because of a plot bunny between me and a friend that grew into something more. Besides, there's not enough Nathan and Warren domestic discipline in the world for me. Some details might have been changed to fit the story, but most everything has been kept the same. Max decided not to save Chloe, and thus Arcadia Bay still stands.
> 
> If you like my work, consider buying me a ko-fi [here!](https://ko-fi.com/M4M1GFI4) I'm a broke college kid so any and all help would be appreciated.
> 
> Just a note, it does briefly become Nathan's POV. This is denoted by a '~' at the beginning and end of the change.

Warren was starting to get worried. Everything seemed to have been turned on its head from the start of the semester. Chloe was dead, he had beaten the shit out of Nathan, Jefferson had been arrested, and Nathan had been found not guilty of the crimes that he had committed. It was enough to make someone’s head spin. Since the shorter brunette had come back from rehab and some intense therapy, Warren had noticed that Nathan's mental health hadn't improved much. Maybe he was a fucking creep for keeping such a close eye on Nathan, but Warren couldn’t help himself. The older teenager was losing weight, and those gaunt circles surrounding haunted eyes were pretty damn hard to miss. 

Most everyone avoided Nathan, for fear of setting him off or because they didn't know what to say. And Nathan would probably beat the shit out of anyone who implied that he wasn’t doing just fine. As weak and skinny as he looked now, the viciousness with which Nathan defended himself likely hadn’t gone anywhere. For his part, Warren wasn't exactly avoiding him. 

He was someone who liked to fix things, always had been. Nathan didn't deserve to be looked at like he was some animal that was a danger to society, even if he could be an asshole. The issue was that Warren didn't know how to fix this. It wasn't like he had a vast reserve of knowledge on the subject to make an informed decision on how to handle the situation. So, like any respectable person, he turned to google for answers. As it turned out, 'unstable friend, how to help' didn't provide him with much.

Somewhere along the way between the suggestion of therapy and more rehab, Warren found something that he almost dismissed immediately it sounded so implausible. A way to manage feelings of guilt as well as provide atonement and move forward...it sounded almost ideal. Warren dug a little deeper, compiling notes and explanations and hypotheses. He stored all of it onto a drive, putting stars next to the files that he found the most important. He worked on this well into the night, finally passing out at three in the morning. The alarm in the morning was a rude awakening, but Warren was a man on a mission. 

Warren heaved himself awake to head to his first class, where he knew he would to see Nathan. As long as the rich kid came to class. He got there early, dodging anyone who wanted to talk to him, in favor of waiting for Nathan to appear. Warren was going to give him the flash drive with the fruits of his labor and let him make his own conclusions...it wasn't like he could force the other teenager to agree to his idea. That would just be a shitty thing to do.

Max gave him a questioning look when he sat down without saying a word, but Warren ignored her in favor of keeping his eyes on the door. He had to be quick, so that Nathan didn't run off as soon as the first period ended. As luck would have it, Nathan showed up to class with only two minutes to spare. His head was down with his headphones pressed deep into his ears to drown out the chatter of the surrounding students. 

~

Nathan knew he had fucked up. He knew he _was_ fucked up. People had been looking at him weird recently. Nathan understood hate and he understood disgust, but he abhorred pity. He hated those concerned, pitying looks that everyone seemed to have for him now. Now that everyone knew what Jefferson had done, what he had used him for…they just looked at him like he was a victim. Nathan wasn’t a fucking victim. Even Kate Marsh looked at him with so much _understanding_ it made his skin crawl with unease and discomfort. And Max…Nathan had executed her best friend. She should bash his head in and call it a mercy killing.

Sitting in class was torture. He didn’t even have any drugs to go back to. Frank wouldn’t sell to him anymore because he said Nathan brought too much attention. All he had was pot and that was not cutting it anymore. Still, it was better than nothing. Being high took the edge of the death that he knew he was responsible for. Nathan slumped down slightly, curling in on himself. He could feel eyes on him, and Nathan turned slightly. He met Warren’s gaze with a confused expression that quickly morphed into something annoyed. Warren looked fucking weird today. His gaze wasn’t the same shitty sad look he got from everyone else. This gaze was uncomfortably intense. Nathan turned around quickly, pretending that he hadn’t just been staring back at Warren for like thirty solid seconds.

Warren blinked when Nathan whipped around, but he wasn't deterred in the slightest. Max always told him he was persistent to an annoying degree, and it seemed like it was going to come in handy. Class drug on, and Warren found that he couldn’t give two shits about English literature right now. The moment the bell signaled the end of class, Warren was out of his chair and moving toward Nathan’s seat. He strode to Nathan’s desk with what he hoped was an air of confidence. Warren pressed the small, small, unassuming USB into his Nathan’s pale hand and the shorter teenager looked up at him in confused surprise. 

"Give that a look after school today." Warren whispered just loud enough for Nathan to hear, before straightening up and heading for the door before Nathan had the chance to speak. He had been meticulous about including every last bit of research. The drive was organized by introduction, followed by support and data for the benefits, and finally the potentials ways for it to be implemented. All that was left was for Nathan to either agree or disagree. That was the first step. With that, he turned and headed for the door. Max quickly caught up to him, her brow arched in definite surprise. 

"What was that?" Max asked as they walked. 

"Just some movies I thought might cheer him up." Warren lied easily, his chest tightening at how easily the little white lie rolled off his tongue. 

"Oh. Well, that was nice of you, I guess." Max responded, but the conversation soon turned to more inane things like homework and project deadlines. 

Warren tuned Max out as they walked, his thoughts focused on Nathan and the major fucking risk he’d just taken. Part of him was curious to see if Nathan would accept the offer. He needed help. Warren could see him getting thinner, paler, sicker, every time he appeared. He couldn't let it continue like this. Nathan was going to die, and as shitty as Nathan could be, Warren didn’t think he deserved that. 

Nathan watched Warren walk out with Max after class, confused. He quickly schooled his expression to one of impassiveness and annoyance. Movies, huh? Well, it wasn’t like he had anything better to do. Maybe getting high and having a movie night with his projector was what he needed to make it through the week. Or maybe a meteor would hit him on the head and just put him out of his misery. Yeah, right. Nathan had never been that lucky. The day was a blur. Class after class after class and nothing sank into Nathan’s head. Nathan fled after the last class period. At least his room was a safe-haven, where he wouldn’t have people staring at him. He flopped onto his bed with laptop in tow, settling his headphones into his ears once again. Nathan held up the flash drive to examine it. It looked normal, just a normal shitty flash drive. 

He popped the flash drive into the USB slot, waiting for the little file to pop up on the screen. Nathan clicked on the first file. His brow creased when he began reading the titles. None of these were movies he’d heard before. Nathan clicked on one of the video files, titled “video examples”, whatever the hell that was. He had no idea what they would be examples of-

“WHAT THE FUCK?” Nathan yelped, pushing his laptop away from him in shock and embarrassment. He yanked his headphones off, staring at the video still playing on the screen in utter horror. It was a fucking spanking video! Some poor fucker was pinned over a man’s lap, squirming back and forth in a clear attempt to escape. Not that he was having any luck. The man smacking his ass was significantly bigger. Nathan could feel his face blushing bright red, probably the same color as the poor guy’s ass, and he slowly reached out a hand to pause the video as though touching his laptop would burn him. 

Why the hell did Warren give him this? Nathan sat back against the mattress, waiting for the adrenaline from the shock to die down. What was he supposed to do now? Part of him wanted to go strangle Warren for even handing him this. But the other part…he kind of wanted to see what else was in here. Warren had clearly put a lot of thought and effort into this from the sheer number of files on here. It would be rude not to peruse it. Right. That was his excuse. The next file Nathan flicked on was called ‘diagrams’. He rested his chin on his hand as he clicked through everything. 

There were things…implements…that could be used. One file ranked the pain. It even said what color and effect it should have on the spankee (he learned that word too). Why was he looking at this? He couldn’t stop himself though. After a few hours he had gone through the whole flash drive, every single fucking file. Twice. Three times. And then a fourth time after that. 

Before Nathan realized it, it was four in the morning and one thing was certain. He could not look Warren fucking Graham in the face tomorrow. Or ever again. Nathan would just not go to class for the rest of the semester and everything would be fine. Yes, that was a good plan. 

~  
It had been almost a week. A whole damn week. Warren hadn't seen hide nor hair of Nathan for the entire time. The shorter teenager hadn’t come to class, he hadn’t come out to eat, or to do much of anything, to be honest. Warren was pretty sure it was because he had scarred the other teenager and shocked him into hiding. On the flip side, knowing Nathan’s proclivity for drugs and alcohol, something worse could have happened. It was Friday now. His original plan had been to just leave it alone and let Nathan come to him of his own free volition. But now…Warren was just concerned that the skinny brunette wouldn't even make it to the end of next month. For all he knew, Nathan could have just thrown the USB in the trash, but at least Warren would know if he was alive. That was better than nothing.

And so, after classes, Warren dumped his backpack and other crap in his room before slowly making his way towards room 111. There was a moment of hesitation right before he knocked, doubt clouding his mind for several seconds. Should he really be doing this? Was this something he wanted to get involved in? Because once this started, there really was no going back. Warren took a slow, deep breath before knocking solidly on the door. There was no one else in the dorms. Almost everyone else was going out to celebrate the end of the week and the nice weather. Max had invited Warren to see a movie with her, but he had declined in favor of coming to check on Nathan. She had understood, or so she said. Max was worried too, but she didn't know what Warren had planned. No one could know. Nathan would absolutely murder him if anyone found out. Hell, Warren would just off himself. Enough debating, he just had to knock. So he did, rapping three times on the door and just praying Nathan was inside.

"Hey Nathan, it's Warren. I just want to talk and see how you're doing." He called through the door, hoping that hearing it was the one who handed Nathan the drive would encourage him to open the door. Warren was banking all of this on the fact that Nathan would have been curious enough to open the USB, and thus would want to confront him at the very least. Then Warren could explain himself and try to get Nathan to see how beneficial it could be. Research didn't lie, and Warren had read all about how people were helped through this sort of thing. Utter silence. Warren raised his hand to knock again when he heard the sound of vomiting and retching from inside the room. 

"Nathan?! Nathan, are you okay?" He called through the door again, trying the handle in desperation. 

Warren had grown a bit over the last few months and filled out some, but he highly doubted that he could shoulder the door in even if he tried. Thankfully it opened, and Warren saved himself the ordeal of looking like a moron. He stumbled inside to see Nathan dry-heaving into a trashcan. Warren's mind took a moment to process what he was seeing. He took a few steps closer, still keeping his distance. Clearly he had waited too long for things to have gotten this bad. Warren wasn't going to just bully Nathan into doing this, because that wouldn't help at all. He would just be another person in a long line of people who had used Nathan for their own devices and that would just keep perpetuating this unhealthy cycle.

“Christ.” Warren muttered under his breath at the sight of Nathan slumped over the trashcan. 

“Fuck off Graham.” Came the timely response, and Nathan’s head lolled to the side just so he could glare up at the intruder into his space. “I don’t fucking want your help.”

Even with the warning, Warren went to Nathan's side and helped the skinny teenager up to his feet and into his desk chair. “You can’t just lay on the floor.”

“Fuck you! Get out!” Nathan yelled, and Warren was pretty sure that had Nathan not been in shock, he would have been punched in the mouth. “Get off me!” Nathan snapped again, struggling until his body settled in the chair. It took a moment to catch his breath and recover from the vomiting episode, but once he had, Nathan stood up and continued his tirade. “Get out of my fucking room!”

"Do you want me to get you water or something?" Warren asked, as though a clearly irate Nathan Prescott wasn’t screaming at him. They had to discuss the flash drive. It was now, or never. 

“I don’t want your fucking water and I don’t want to talk to you! Just get the hell out! Now!” Nathan snapped, crossing his arms across his skinny chest. 

Warren didn’t say anything for a moment, his gaze shifting around the room. The curtains were drawn and there was almost no light. What little there was snuck in through gaps in the material, so that one could make their way around the room. On the bed was the laptop, the flash drive plugged in. So Nathan had gone through it, or at least some of it. 

“You opened it then? I think we ought to talk if you did.” Warren stated, but he already knew the answer to that question. Nathan hadn’t thrown it out the moment he saw it or come to murder him…so maybe there was a chance after all.

Speaking of, Nathan was staring at him with an open mouth. It was clear he had no idea what to say. And he was embarrassed, if the reddened flush on his cheekbones was anything to go by. Nathan followed Warren’s gaze to the open laptop, and he hurriedly slammed it shut. He rounded on Warren then, eyes flashing with that famous Prescott temper. With a red face and downcast eyes, Nathan pushed Warren lightly towards the door.

“I don’t want to talk to you, get out!” Nathan flung his arm out, pointing at the still open door. He stepped forward, that mask of intimidation slipping into place. “Get the hell out! Now!”

Warren stared right back at Nathan when the shorter man got up in his face. He simply raised a brow, refusing to back down. Part of him felt like this was some sort of test, to see if he would leave at the first available opportunity. In that moment, Warren decided that he wasn't going anywhere. He shook his head, only turning back to shut the door and then blocking it with his tall frame. Nathan’s mouth dropped open in shock when Warren didn’t back down. He looked like he was either going to explode in a temper or cry from the embarrassment. Nathan’s face was red, and he was biting his lip to the point Warren was afraid he would start bleeding.

"I'm not going anywhere until we talk. Even if you don't want to talk, I'm going to, and you can choose to listen if you want." Warren said calmly, refusing to let Nathan trigger his temper. That would be the opposite of helpful. He could see Nathan opening his mouth to shout again. Warren cut that off real quick.

"And before you deny that you didn’t look at it, I can tell you watched something on that drive. Your face wouldn’t be this red if you hadn’t." Warren added with an even tone, studying Nathan's face intently. "And I think that it would help you immensely. You look like death Nathan, and you know it. You haven't left this room in a week. I want to help you, Nathan. That's all."

The response he got was a middle finger tossed in his direction and a “Fuck you”. And then Nathan did something Warren really had not seen coming. Nathan actually got on top of his desk, tossed the curtains open, and lifted the window. Although he couldn’t see himself right now, Warren was sure his expression showed how entirely unimpressed he felt. 

"Seriously? You'd rather try and go out the window than just have a conversation?" He asked, taking a few steps closer. Warren wanted to be close enough that if he didn't manage to talk Nathan down, he could lunge over and hopefully pull him back in before the dramatic teenager hurt himself trying to jump out of a window. "Come on Nathan, I'm just trying to help!" Warren said again, softening his tone a bit to try and encourage a bit more compliance. Nathan had one leg out the window now. He turned back to stare down at Warren. His face was still red, but he looked calmer. Then he looked out the window, and then back at Warren. There was a moment of hesitation on his face, and Warren took that as a sign of hope. He didn’t say anything. It looked like Nathan was weighing his options, and Warren took the chance to interject. 

"You can't deny that it sounds like it would help!" He tried, taking a few steps closer once again. Warren knew if he got too close that Nathan might just lash out in desperation, but it wasn't like he had a choice. 

"We can discuss this like rational people, can't we?" At least, he was hoping that they could. The fact that Nathan was so nervous gave Warren hope that the shorter teenager had given it some thought and was just scared to pursue it. That was the best-case scenario, at this point. That apparently, prompted Nathan into speaking. 

“No, we can’t. Because one, I’m high as a kite, and two, fuck you,” Nathan stated and threw his other leg over the windowsill. He stayed still for a moment, just looking down at the ground. He was probably debating the amount of damage he’d sustain from this height. “Stop pretending you fucking care!”

"Fucking hell." Warren muttered out, before heading right up to the window and wrapping his long arms around Nathan's torso and bodily tugging him back into the room. He knew he was probably going to get smacked in the face for this, and he was expecting it. Warren could take it. "Yes we can, and we are going to!" 

Maybe diplomacy wasn't working well. Actions always spoke louder than words, and Warren was definitely not going to let Nathan jump out of the damn window. Warren didn't let go until Nathan's skinny form was back inside. He wasn't super strong or anything, but he definitely was stronger than Nathan was right now. 

"I'm not pretending jack! You need help, and we're all worried about you!" Warren insisted, his voice strained from having to haul what was essentially dead weight back in from the window. Nathan shrieked when Warren pulled him back inside, struggled against him the entire way. Warren tightened his hold and continued pulling, grunting from the exertion. When Warren finally got Nathan back on his feet, the shorter teenager skittered away from Warren, but not without clocking him in the cheek. 

It wasn't even a hard punch, all things considered. Warren had definitely had considerably worse over the course of his life. His hand drifted up to his cheek in surprise. Nathan froze once he made contact. His face had gone from a furious red to a deathly pale in a matter of seconds. It hadn’t been anything compared to when he’d actually punched Warren, but it was enough to cause some redness on Warren’s face. Both of them seemed more shocked than anything. Neither of them moved until Warren realized that Nathan was shaking. No, that was wrong. Nathan was crying. Warren's cheek was immediately forgotten, and he took a few steps forward to carefully place a hand on Nathan's shoulder. Nathan flinched slightly at Warren’s hand, but went right back to his crying within seconds. He didn’t say anything.

"Hey, it's okay. It's not a big deal." Warren said quietly, trying to offer whatever reassurance he could now that Nathan was crying. "I probably deserved that, trying to haul you back in like that, but that jump wasn't safe. You could have seriously hurt yourself." Warren chided, letting out a soft sigh. He moved over to the window and pointedly shut it, looking back to Nathan. 

"I think we need to talk." Warren said quietly as he leaned against Nathan's desk, still a bit winded from dragging Nathan back into the bedroom. He wasn't sure how much touching he would be able to get away with, so for now he would keep it to a minimum and gauge Nathan's responses. 

"I really do want to help you Nathan...I'm not going anywhere. I know we haven't had the best relationship.” With that out of the way, Warren took another breath and let it out slowly. "I did a lot of research, and I know you saw at least some of it. I think it'll help you...isn't it better just to give it a chance than living like this?" He asked, concerned. 

“Forty-seven.” Nathan’s quiet, tearful voice broke the silence.

“What?” Warren asked, confused at the statement.

Nathan took a shaky breath before speaking again. “I... I went through the entire st-stupid flash drive forty-seven times. I kept count because…because I told my-myself at fifty I’d figure it o-out. Warren, you don’t get it...”

It was the most human Warren had ever heard Nathan sound. The most vulnerable too. 

"Forty seven times, huh?" Warren asked quietly. He studied Nathan a moment longer. The more he looked, the more Warren could see the self-loathing in those sad blue eyes. "Nathan…please…you're going to end up killing yourself."

Nathan bit his lip when Warren spoke, shrugging thin shoulders. “That’s the endgame.” He muttered between quiet tears and Warren froze. He was lost for words for a moment. Warren didn’t know what to say, but his tongue began moving of its own accord.

"Nathan, you don't deserve to die. What happened...it wasn't your fault. None of that was your fault. Jefferson was the one who did those things...he lied to you." Warren straightened up and placed a careful hand on Nathan’s shoulder.

“That’s a lie, Warren.” Nathan said quietly, but he didn’t move Warren’s hand. “I deserve death. Honestly, I deserve so much worse. For fuck’s sake, I deserve a whole lot more than…than what you want to do.” 

"Look...I don't want you to die. I don't think you deserve to go out like that. You have a long road in front of you, and I think with actual help you could get there." Warren's voice was quiet, gentle, now that Nathan was actually listening to him. "I don't want to do it to humiliate you or make you hurt...that's not the point of all this." He said, and offered Nathan a weak smile. "I think that the...the spanking, it might actually give you a way to deal with your feelings in a healthy manner."

Hell, saying the word out loud was weird. But if Warren didn't get used to it, then Nathan wouldn't either. "I don't want you to die. There are people that would be sad if you died Nathan, and I'm one of them." Warren hoped that even if Nathan didn't believe him now, that he would...with time and patience of course. "So...will you give it a try? Please?" He asked, giving the slender shoulder a careful squeeze. 

Nathan looked like he was actually listened closely to everything Warren said. He even leaned against Warren’s hand, instinctively seeking out the affection. The tears were even slowing a bit now, although he flushed when Warren actually said ‘the word’. Nathan began playing with the hem of his sweater, looking anywhere but Warren as he thought. It took several long moments, but Nathan finally took a deep breath and nodded his head softly. 

“But... I don’t want anyone to know...” Nathan looked over at Warren. “I... I think this is weird... Is this weird? I mean, clearly people online do it…have you... have you done this before?” Nathan rambled, before flushing and looking away again. He sat on the bed, looking down at his lap to avoid looking at Warren.

"No one has to know." Warren said immediately, a small smile teasing at the corners of his mouth at the shy rambling. "I don't want anyone to know either...they'll probably think I'm assaulting you or something." He really didn't want to have to explain himself to someone else about something so personal. As much as he would have liked to remain cool and collected, Warren’s own face flushed slightly pink at Nathan’s final question. 

"Um...no, no I haven't." He answered with a shrug, rubbing the back of his neck before clearing his throat to get rid of the flush coloring his face. "But I watched a lot of videos and read a bunch of stuff, so I think I get the gist." Warren smiled slightly. He was trying to be reassuring. Nathan’s mouth quirked up with the smallest of smiles before he looked back down again.

"And anyway I don't think it's weird...I think it's different. But if it's something you need, then that's okay too." Warren slowly sat on the bed beside Nathan. "I...we should start sooner rather than later...no one's in the dorm right now. They're out, celebrating the end of the week. Your friends are throwing some major party." Warren said, patting Nathan's shoulder lightly.

Warren’s own shyness seemed to put Nathan a little bit at ease, and the tension in his shoulders relaxed somewhat. He’d even giggled when Warren said someone would think Warren was assaulting him. But the giggles stopped and were replaced with a bright flush when Warren said they should start.

“Now? As in right now?” Nathan asked, the faintest hint of a whine coloring his tone.

"No time like the present." Warren said simply.

Nathan chewed on his lip and looked at the door. “Is it okay if you check? You know, to make sure no one’s here. Just to make sure? I’m a little paranoid...,” Nathan admitted, looking back down into his lap. 

The request didn't seem that unreasonable, and Warren wanted to check in general. Better to be safe than sorry, especially concerning something so personal. 

"Okay, I'll go check. Wait here." He instructed, before slowly standing up and pausing once he turned the doorknob. "Just know if I come back and find the door locked, I'm going to remember you agreed to this, and then I'm going to come and find you and we'll start off once I do." Warren levied as a threat, before heading out into the hallway. He left the door open, so it would be fairly obvious if Nathan had closed it in an attempt to lock him out. He strode down the hall, listening for anyone talking or listening to music. Nothing. The dorms were going to be dead, at least, until late at night when everyone stumbled back drunk or under the influence of something or the other. Warren even knocked on a few doors with no response. And with that, he turned right around and headed back towards Nathan's room to see if the shorter teen had actually heeded his warning.

And he came back to a shut door. Warren's eyes narrowed and he tried the handle just to have it open easily. Ah, so not locked then. Interesting. Warren had read something about this during his research. Sometimes, the so-called 'sub' as Warren had termed it would test things upfront, just to get a reaction. Nathan was doing it a bit sooner than expected, and Warren had no choice but to rise to the occasion or else this wasn't going to work. Game on, then. 

Nathan was sitting with one leg out of the window, and his head whipped around when Warren opened the door. He opened his mouth to speak, but Warren didn’t give him the chance. He strode right over to the window, wrapping his arms around Nathan's slender waist and hauled him right back inside. It was just like he had done before, just with a lot less hesitation behind the action. Nathan yelped at the action, but there was no frantic struggling like the time before. When Warren settled him on his own two feet, the little brat just stared down at the floor in silence. The taller brunette kept a tight hold on Nathan’s upper arm, just in case.

"I think I told you that you were supposed to wait there, not try and climb out the window. Were you trying to see if I'd keep my promise?" Warren had no issues calling Nathan out on his actions. 

“You didn’t say anything about the window.” Nathan muttered defensively. “So technically I didn’t do anything wrong.”

"It doesn't matter I didn't say anything about the window. You knew exactly what I meant, and you decided not to listen to me. If you really had wanted to get away, you would have dropped into those bushes and been halfway across town by now." Nathan didn’t have anything to say to that. He just stayed silent. He was waiting for Warren to take the lead.

"Lucky for you no one seems to be in the dorms." Warren tightened his hold on Nathan's upper arm and began tugging him along towards Nathan’s bed. "I was going to start out easy, but I guess that's not going to happen is it?"

Nathan’s face and neck were red, but he wasn’t fighting to get away. He was letting this happen. 

“But you didn’t say anything about the window!” Nathan repeated a lot louder, as though he were sure Warren must be hard of hearing. 

Warren ignored him in favor of sitting on the bed. All of his reading had said he should make this a ritual almost, something that could be expected. Not some sort of quick and dirty affair, if at all possible. "I don't know how hard I have to swat to make you feel it, so we're going to be doing this bare. This isn't about humiliation or embarrassment. This is to make sure that I don't hurt you. Do you understand?" Warren was going to take this one step at a time, and talk through it all, at least the first time. Until they settled into a rhythm. Which implied he was going to be doing this again, and he fully intended to.

Nathan had been staring at his feet, until he looked up in shock at the news this was going to happen on the bare. “Th-The whole time? Y-You can’t do that! No!” Nathan protested, and he began trying to pull himself away from Warren. 

"The whole time. I need to be able to see what I'm doing. I'm not going to strip you completely. Like I said, this is about forgiveness. Not humiliating you. Although, you earned yourself a little bit of a punishment with that little stunt." Warren carefully placed both his hands on Nathan's hips. The touch was more about getting Nathan used to being touched like this than keeping him still. He heard Nathan’s breath hitch when his hands touched Nathan’s hips. Nathan was practically vibrating at the touch, unable to escape but nervous. Warren figured this was going to be one of the more difficult parts. He had a plan in place for how to handle it. He always did.

"Now, I'm going to take your pants down for you. I think it's easiest that way." He was going over his little checklist in his mind. "We'll handle the rest once you're over my knee." 

All he got in response was a small, sad nod. 

Warren's hands moved slowly to the waist of Nathan's pants. It didn't take him long to undo any buttons and tug the pants down to Nathan's knees. Nathan’s breathing stopped, and Warren’s eyes flicked upward. "Breathe." He murmured softly, before Warren carefully tugged Nathan to settle over his lap. Nathan didn’t even protest, just went along with Warren’s tugging. The only thing that escaped was a whimper. 

It was awkward for a moment, as Warren shifted Nathan into a comfortable position. Well, comfortable for Warren anyway. He hooked his fingers carefully into Nathan's underwear, waiting a moment. "Not about humiliation. Remember?"

Nathan just nodded, hiding his face in the sheets and fisting the fabric in his hands. He was so thin. Warren could feel Nathan’s hips digging into his torso. Not for the first time, Warren noted just how thin Nathan was. That was something that was going to have to be worked on in time, but this needed to be handled first. The whimpers tugged on his heartstrings more than he thought it would. 

One of his arms wrapped around Nathan's thin waist while the other focused on tugging down the last layer of protection. Nathan's bottom was so small and pale, Warren almost felt bad spanking it. He took a breath and rested his warm palm against the pale flesh. Nathan relaxed almost, seemingly enjoying the touch even if he was silent, for a change.

"You deserve to be happy Nathan. Slowly killing yourself is not the right thing to do, not in any sense of the word." Warren said firmly, raising his palm and bringing it down with a sharp swat. It was louder than he expected, and the sound seemed to reverberate in the empty room. A bright red handprint flushed up in the center of Nathan's bottom immediately and Nathan yelped loudly, looking back at Warren with utter horror.

Warren ignored him and landed a second smack in the same spot, watching in idle interest as the skin turned an even darker pink. That got him a yell, and Nathan found his voice.

“Fuck!” Nathan buried his face back into the sheets and groaned. “Fuck you!” 

"You know, it's not really advisable to curse at the person currently spanking your bottom." Warren’s response was to land another two swats to Nathan’s left cheek. "This is going to help you work through your feelings, and we're going to do it as many times as necessary." He decreed, moving to the right cheek and repeating the unforgiving swats. 

“F-Fuck you!” Nathan yelled again, this time with a frustrated kick outward.

"The naughtier you are, the harder I'm going to spank. I suggest that you contain that mouth while I'm swatting you, because you're already in trouble for that little window stunt." 

Nathan flushed at Warren’s phrasing, squirming and wriggling to try and get free. “You have got to be fucking kidding me!”

"What. Did. I. Just. Say?" Warren demanded sternly, jacking his knee up sharply and punctuating each word with a sharp smack to the tender area Nathan would be sitting on earlier. "You don't curse at me. You're more than capable of expressing yourself without cursing. I'm giving you that respect, and I expect the same thing in return." He said firmly. Warren hated being so harsh right off the bat, but all the things he'd read said that he had to correct disrespect and disobedience immediately if he wanted to arrange any sort of routine.

Nathan cried out when Warren spanked his sitspots, the sound noticeably wetter than it had been before. “OW! Warren, that hurts! Let me up!”

Warren answered by bringing his palm down with several smacks to Nathan's previously untouched thighs. From his reading, he knew that those spots would hurt a lot more. It was much more sensitive, and Warren wanted to ensure that Nathan knew that he meant business. "You haven't been taking care of yourself Nathan. I can see exactly how thin you are."

Nathan actually bucked and yelled at the swats to his thighs, his whole body tensing at the resulting sting. “You’re not my mom! I’m perfectly healthy…” Nathan muttered into the bed. 

"I may not be your mom, but I care about you. You're not at a healthy weight. We're going to manage that from now on, together. I know you take those shitty diet pills, and I'm tossing 'em in the trash as soon as we're done here." Warren said, returning his punishing smacks to the roundest part of the rapidly reddening little rear. It was interesting Nathan had found his voice all of a sudden. Warren wondered if it was because his new charge actually felt safer here, safe enough to lash out without fear of being abandoned or thrown away like trash. 

“Those are mine! You can’t take them away from meeeee! Warren!” Nathan whined and kicked his legs in protest. 

"They might be yours, but I'm not going to let you take them. There's no proof they actually work, and all they seem to be doing is adding to your weight issues. You could stand to gain a significant amount of weight." Warren said firmly, before letting out an almost amused sound at how pouty Nathan sounded right now. He'd always thought of Nathan as this big, tough individual when all he really seemed to do was whine.

Nathan didn’t seem to have anything to say. His yelps were getting louder more pained which each successive smack to his sore ass. 

“I expect better from you. Skipping class, skipping meals, all of that is going to stop. The moment you try and pull something that naughty again, we're going to end up right back here." He reminded the shorter brunette, before raising his knee once again to expose the sensitive sitspots. "Now, we're going to talk about why you've been doing these things."

“I don’t want to talk! I want this to be done you… you…” 

Warren landed two pointed smacks to either side of Nathan's undercurve, ignoring his protesting. "Whether you want to talk or not, it's going to happen. The whole point of these spankings is to help you work through your feelings, as well as make sure you keep to the straight and narrow."

Nathan yelped at the two hard swats, his bottom swaying back and forth as he tried to avoid Warren’s unforgiving palm. “Stop saying the word!”

“What word? ‘Spanking’? But that’s what it is.” Nathan whined in displeasure and embarrassment, his face returning to hide in the sheets.

Warren's hand was starting to sting and he needed to make a little more of an impression. He carefully stood Nathan back up, ignoring the lack of clothing on the shorter man's lower half. "Bring me your hairbrush Nathan."

Nathan looked confused for a moment when he was stood, tugging down his sweater. Not that Warren was staring, but if it helped him feel better. Nathan’s face and neck went red. “I don’t want you to use that… It’s going to hurt a lot…”

"That's the point. It's supposed to hurt, and you're going to be able to get out all the feelings you've been keeping up in that brain of yours." Warren responded dryly. He turned Nathan towards the rest of the room and sending him forward with a solid smack to the chubbiest part of Nathan's bottom. Part of Warren had no idea where this confidence was coming from, but he was going to roll with it. 

Nathan yelped at the swat, offering Warren a sullen glare. But he still didn’t move.

"Bring me the brush Nathan, or we can start over with my hand and then we can get the brush." Warren didn't like being so harsh, but Nathan had to understand that he meant business. "Whichever you prefer." The choice was clearly given to Nathan. He could dig his own grave, if that's what he wanted to do.

Nathan went that time, and slowly picked up the hairbrush. He hesitated a moment, and then he chucked the brush at Warren. “Here’s your goddamn murder weapon!” Nathan snapped and crossed his arms. 

Warren barely had enough time to raise his hand to block it from hitting his face. He picked it up slowly, fixing Nathan with a stern look. Nathan was pouting at him, arms crossed like a toddler. Warren knew that the shorter brunette was trying to push him, and he had to rise to the occasion. 

"I guess we're going to pick the hard way, aren't we Nathan?” Warren stood and advanced on Nathan in the enclosed space. "A murder weapon was a little dramatic, don't you think?" 

Nathan just stood there. He could have made a break for it, but he was waiting. Looks like he was a more willing participant than he wanted to admit. Warren snagged ahold of Nathan's arm and heading for the bed once again. Nathan tugged back slightly, but he still went. His only audible protest was an upset whine of disapproval.

"Naughty boys who throw things get punished for it. At this rate, you're not going to be able to sit for a day or two." He sat back down and pinned Nathan down over his knee. At least Nathan's thinness was working out in Warren's favor. 

“Warren… You… you’re not going to do too much are you?” Nathan asked hesitantly, and immediately Warren’s expression softened.

He put the brush down and settled his hand on Nathan's lower back to rub up and down slowly. "I'm not going to bruise you, or do anything nearly that hard. I don't want to hurt you, not like that. This is to help you think. Not to make you bleed." 

Nathan nodded slowly, relaxing once again. Right up until Warren landed the first smack with the brush, right in the middle of his ass. That got a pained cry, and Nathan’s hand flung out to grab Warren’s shirt.

"Now, we were talking about why you've been taking such bad care of yourself." Warren landed another sharp pop with the brush. It sounded different he noted, lower and harder than this hand. Interesting. "People care around you Nathan. I care about you. You aren't to blame for what happened, you need to realize that."

“How do you know?” Nathan sniffled wetly, shaking his head. “No one cares!”

"Because I talk to them. We're all worried about you, Nathan. Max worries about you, so does Victoria. Kate, even. We're all worried about you...we can see you losing weight, distancing yourself..." Warren decidedly placing his non-spanking hand on Nathan's back to offer a little bit of comfort. Nathan seemed to respond well to touch, Warren noticed, so he was going to continue it as much as possible. 

"And it stops now. I'm stepping in, and I'll continue to do so until I think you don't need me to anymore." Warren resumed bringing the unforgiving back of the brush down every few words. He was meticulous, ensuring that no part of Nathan's rear was any redder than the rest of it. Nathan was yelping and squirming with every swat from the brush, his legs flailing outward to try and get himself out of Warren’s range. Not that it was helping the burn in his red little bottom at all.

"Why are we here, Nathan?" He asked gently, raising his knee once again.

“Because you’re a jackass!” Nathan yelled, his voice tearful. 

"Sorry Nathan, wrong answer." Warren said with a sigh, before bringing the brush down sharply on Nathan's thighs and undercurve. It didn't take long for those areas of flesh to turn as red as the rest of his bottom, if not more so. "You know, you don't have to keep pushing me just because you want to me keep going. I dictate how long this spanking happens, not you. I know how much you can take, and I know exactly how much you need to break." 

Well, the more accurate statement was that he was going to learn from this spanking, but Warren figured he would realize when Nathan had finally reached as much as he could handle."

Now, I'm going to ask you again. Why. Are. We. Here?" The last four were accompanied by four harder smacks to Nathan's bright red bottom, and Warren could tell that those smacks hurt. Good, they were meant to.  
Nathan yelled into the sheets and kicked his legs hard at the swats. He’d started to cry softly at Warren’s words, and when he spoke his voice sounded so sad. 

“Be-Because… I… I’ve been… I haven’t been taking care of myself! A-And… being distant! Warren please stoop! The hairbrush hurts!” Nathan sniffed and looked back at Warren, his face already wet. “Please…. I’m sorry…”

"Good." Warren said with a small smile. Maybe it might have sounded condescending to anyone else, but he truly did mean it as praise. It was progress. 

"I know you're sorry." Warren soothed, even more as he landed two more swats to Nathan's thighs. "But I want to make sure that you're sorry for the right reasons.” He did reduce the force behind his next smack. Of course, it was already so red Nathan probably couldn't tell the difference. "I don't want you to be sorry for what happened with Chloe, not entirely anyway. What happened wasn't your fault. What I want you to be sorry for is how you've been handling it, Nathan. Does that make sense?"

“Warren!” Nathan yelped at the smack to his thighs. His hand came back to grab hold of Warren’s shirt again. At the next swat, his other hand shot back to offer what little protection it could. “I am! I am sorry! Warren, I’m sorry! Please no more! Pleeee-heease!” 

They were nearing the end now, Warren could tell. "Almost done Nathan, just a few more." He pinned Nathan’s hand to the small of his back and brought the brush down three final times, on the lower part of the well-spanked rear. "Do not throw things at me." It was one final chastisement, and a decent reminder. Nathan's bottom was a dark, shiny red and it probably wasn't going to be comfortable to sit on for a good, long while. At least for a day, maybe two or three at most. 

"You're sorry for what, Nathan?" Warren hated making him say it again, but he needed to hear confirmation that Nathan was sorry for the right reasons. "If you can tell me, then we're all done for now."

Nathan had started to blubber into the sheets at the last three swats. “I woooon’t,” Nathan sobbed, shaking his head furiously. When asked him again what he was sorry for, the spanked brunette cried harder. “Losing we-weight… a-and… um… um…,” Nathan started to cry harder, “I don’t knoooow! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” His apologies blurred together in a desperate attempt to get Warren to please stop spanking his burning bottom.

They'd reached the breaking point. Nathan was beginning to be incoherent. "Good boy." Warren murmured softly, and again, it wasn't meant to be condescending. Just proof that he appreciated how much Nathan was trying He took mercy on Nathan and answered the last bit for him. "You're doing good. Losing weight and avoiding all the people who care about you." 

Warren put the brush down and carefully helped Nathan stand up. His face creased in concern when Nathan began crying harder at the movement. Nathan’s hand hovered behind him, desperately wanting to rub but unable to bear the thought of touching his spanked flesh. 

Once he was sure Nathan wouldn’t stumble, Warren tugged the boxers back over the bright red flesh, drawing a pained whine from the sobbing little rich kid.

"Come on...it's okay." He soothed softly, tugging Nathan to sit on his lap and essentially cuddling the shorter brunette against his chest. "You did good...and now we're going to sit like this and talk, okay?" Warren murmured, letting Nathan cry himself out.

There was a moment of silence between when Warren tugged Nathan into his lap and when Nathan threw his arms around Warren’s neck and bawled into his shoulder. “T-That r-really h-hurt!” Nathan sounded miserable, but he would be just fine in a few minutes. Once he’d gotten to cry himself out. The physical contact seemed like a balm for Nathan’s soul, and he was soaking up the comfort with a desperation that was almost worrisome. “It s-stings,” Nathan finally muttered into Warren’s shirt, grabbed the corner of the blanket and flipping it awkwardly over his legs. 

"I know it does, it was meant to." Warren had his arms wrapped around Nathan's skinny torso as the shorter teenager sobbed into his shoulder. "It'll help you to remember to behave, and that you have people that care about you." Warren wasn’t ready to let Nathan go just yet. 

"Hold on to my neck for a second." He said, carefully shifting so that the two of them were further up on bed. Warren rested his back against the headboard, before tugging the blanket up over Nathan properly. 

"There, that should be a little warmer." Nathan couldn't sit on his lap like this, so Warren settled Nathan on his side, wrapping an arm around the skinny shoulders and pulling Nathan against his chest a second time. "You doing okay? Other than being sore, I mean." He asked with a glance down at his impromptu snuggle companion.

While not protesting the movement, Nathan hid his face in Warren’s shirt. After a few moments, Nathan started shaking again with soft tears. “I... I get that you worry... and that you care... but w-why?” 

Warren’s hand was running up and down Nathan's back as they snuggled together, but it paused in slight alarm when the crying started back up again. He tugged Nathan a little closer to his chest, resuming his idle rubbing of the shorter brunette's back. "Because you're not a bad person." Warren said quietly, gazing down at the small figure practically glued to the side of his chest. 

"Everyone used you, Nathan. None of what happened was your fault. Anyone with half a brain could see that." He commented, his fingers from his other hand moving to run through Nathan's soft brown hair. "And you...you took it so hard. I could see it in your face. You were killing yourself and you don't deserve to die. I couldn't let you die." Warren admitted quietly, shrugging the shoulder that was supporting Nathan's weight.

With all the petting, Nathan’s tears quickly stopped and all he could offer Warren was a soft hum. Nathan just kept drinking in the affection. Apparently, all the gentle touches and snuggling seemed to have worked. Nathan wasn't crying anymore, and it made Warren smile. However, Nathan had managed to wrap himself around Warren like a koala. He clearly wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. “You don’t have to cling to me, you know. Aftercare isn't over until you want it to be."

Nathan looked up at Warren like he had a third eye on his forehead. “Fuck you, I’m warm.” As if to prove a point, Nathan curled one leg around Warren’s, prompting a laugh. 

"Okay, okay. Point taken." 

They lapsed back into comfortable silence until Nathan wriggled slightly.

“Is your... um.... is your stupid fucking hand okay?”

"My hand?" Warren asked in surprise, before realizing what Nathan meant. He smiled then, nodding. "My hand is fine, but I appreciate the concern. Your butt didn't make nearly as much of an impact on my hand as my hand did on it." 

Warren was teasing, he couldn't resist. Nathan's face looked fucking adorable when he blushed. More adorable than someone who was as bratty as Nathan was had any right to look. "Not to mention the brush helped take the edge off some."

Nathan actually gave a small, short smirk. “I’m so glad that the hairbrush helped take some of your edge off... jerk.”

Warren’s own lips tilted up to match Nathan’s. "It's nice to know that even being spanked like that doesn't get rid of that attitude of yours." 

Nathan just snuggled deeper then with a pout. It was minutes later the silence was broken again. 

“So... um... are there any guidelines or things I should know about?” Nathan asked slowly, before glancing up at Warren. “Oh... do you... want your flash drive back?” 

"There are guidelines, yes. I was going to wait a bit before going over them, but I suppose we can do that now." Warren decided, before smiling slightly. "You can keep it if you want. I have a bunch. I dedicated that whole drive just to you." Warren teased, grinning at the resulting whine. 

"As for rules, I have a list that I think would be appropriate. If you have a serious problem with any of them, then we're going to discuss it." He explained, sitting up a bit but snuggling Nathan against his chest so he didn't disturb his charge's resting place. "No lying, no drugs, no alcohol...you're going to start eating three meals a day, don't skip class without a good reason. You start struggling, you come talk to me. Good so far?"

The cuddling ended momentarily when Nathan sat up and stared at Warren’s list of rules. He seemed to be pondering them for a moment before he spoke. 

“Okay, I want to clarify some things. The lying is simple, got it. Drugs... what are we talking about? Because those,“ Nathan pointed over to a bunch of prescriptions, “my doctor gives me. And also all I’ve been doing is smoking pot. Everyone at Blackwell smokes pot. It’s not chemically made. It’s not laced. I think that should be fine. It’s a lot easier on my body then some of my actual medications.” Nathan took a deep breath before continuing.

“And I’ve been drinking just fine since I was fourteen. Victoria and I used to have Wine Mom Wednesdays. I agree with the three meals a day, but if I don’t feel good then I don’t feel good and you can suck it up. What qualifies as a good reason? And what if I don’t come to you?” 

"Drugs that are prescribed by a doctor are fine. And no more pot." Warren said firmly, shaking his head. "Whether everyone does it or not, I don't think it's good for you to be relying on it. Next, I don't care if you've been drinking since you were fourteen. If you don't feel good, then you can tell me and we'll work something out." Warren decided he would cross that bridge when he came to it. 

"A good reason is you being sick. Actually sick. A panic attack, something like that. Not just because you want to avoid someone. And if you don't come to me, I will find out and come to you, and I guarantee you'll like that a lot less." Warren said, settling back against the headboard. "If you looked through the files, you saw there were plenty of other implements. I think I'll order a few in anticipation of you pushing against these rules." He finally finished his own speech, snorting when Nathan collapsed face down next to Warren, groaning loudly into the sheets. 

“I swear you just want me to get into trouble. You know that most of my life is... everything you just said?” Nathan demanded, pouting. “Just... uuuuugh... whatthefuckever! Okay.” Nathan gave in, rolling on his shoulder a bit to look at Warren. 

“You really want to sign up for this? Being Nathan Prescott’s...” Nathan trailed off, considering the word. Disciplinarian? “My dom? And the only thing I can promise you is that you will find many of your things missing if you use any of those torture devices on me.”

 

"I think I've already signed up for it at this point." Warren pointed out, thinking over the word 'dom'. That held a lot of responsibility and weight...Warren felt like he could shoulder it. "And if you decide you're going to throw my stuff out the window, I promise you that you'll regret it." Warren countered, a smirk turning up the corner of his mouth as he slung his arm around Nathan's shoulders. Nathan seemed to like contact, and Warren wanted to encourage Nathan warming up to being touched. The older teen needed more affection in his life.

His brand new sub hummed softly at his words, resting his cheek against Warren’s chest comfortably.

"It's a good thing that it's the weekend. We can spend some time figuring everything out." Warren said idly, looking down at Nathan. "Have you been sleeping okay?" He studied Nathan's face. "You have circles under your eyes."

“I sleep just fine,” Nathan muttered, nuzzling his waist. Warren could tell he was lying, but he didn’t press the issue. He just gaze Nathan a squeeze.

"If you are struggling with sleep, come and tell me. I'll leave my door unlocked so you don't have to answer weird questions about why you're there." Warren offered Nathan a small smile. "Maybe I can help."

Nathan nodded slightly, looking almost confused at Warren’s words. “I…thanks.” He said quietly, trailing off for a moment. “So…so why did you decide to do ‘this’? How the hell did you… where did that even come from? Were you watching some porn and you thought ‘I’ll try this on Nathan’?”

"I googled it, honestly. And somewhere along the way I saw an article about therapy spanking...and I thought it was a joke, so I clicked on it...and it turned out that it was a whole subculture that I didn't know about." Warren explained, rubbing Nathan's side as he spoke. "It was so fascinating. But, I read this account of a person who sounded a lot like you...struggling, and this helped them a lot...so I figured why not do more research and give it a try." Warren finished, a small smile on his face. "Any other questions?"

“I have a lot I just… I don’t know. I feel like I shouldn’t be asking them…” Nathan groaned, hiding his face. 

"If you have questions or concerns, you should tell me." Warren said with an encouraging smile. "I want to make sure that you feel comfortable, your butt aside." He resumed running his long fingers through Nathan's hair, since the shorter male had seemingly liked that before. The content little purr he got in response confirmed it.

“I guess… Ugh… This is fucking weird.” Nathan grumbled into his pillow.

 

"It's unconventional." Warren corrected with a smirk on his face. "I have to say, you took to it better than I thought you would." Warren admitted, looking at his friend? Sub? He didn't know quite what to call Nathan yet, to be honest. "I imagined a much bigger tantrum."

Nathan looked offended when Warren said he expected a bigger tantrum. He moved over to hug him, sitting in his lap and wrapping his legs around his waist as an apparent punishment. Not that Warren was complaining. Nathan was so much shorter than Warren had realized. Maybe because Warren tended to slouch.

“What more could I have done? I tried crawling out the window twice and I threw the hairbrush at you… It was that or throw it out the window.” Nathan admitted with a slight flush on his face

"You were going to throw the brush out the window?" He asked, an incredulous laugh escaping him before he could stop it. "I expected you to fling yourself onto the floor, kicking and screaming to be quite honest. Imagine my surprise when you just threw the damn brush at me instead." 

Nathan’s hands held onto the back of Warren’s shirt, playing with the fabric as he spoke. “Well I was…but then your face was the better target. And I don’t do things like that… I mean it’s better then the things I actually do, but no I do not lay on the floor and kick like a child.” Nathan whined in protest, pouting.

Warren was silent for a moment, studying Nathan. "Do you feel any better?" He asked seriously, looking over the shorter brunette's face for any sign that this hadn't gone over well. Warren's fingers began lightly pressing down in a gentle sort of massage around Nathan’s neck. Nathan looked so at peace. Maybe Warren could get him to sleep like this. Judging by how Nathan’s eyes actually rolled back at the massage, Warren wasn’t far off.

Nathan blinked at Warren’s question. “Yeah it actually… It really did help,” Nathan admitted slowly, and it almost seemed like he was realizing it for the first time himself. “Um… so you would really… you would really spank me again?” 

"I would really spank you again." Warren said simply, continuing his gentle massaging as Nathan started to relax against him. It didn't look like he would be going anywhere anytime soon, and Warren was more than okay with that. Nathan needed him, and he had agreed to make sure that aftercare went on for as long as Nathan needed it. "Do...do you want me to stay here? Until you feel up to sleeping? I don't mind." Warren offered with a warm smile, the hand that wasn't massaging a pliant Nathan's head moving to rub his back again.

Nathan looked shocked at Warren offered to stay, but he nodded slowly. His cheeks were a dusty rose color as Warren moved them under the covers again. Still, he had one more question to ask. “You said if I don’t come to you I wouldn’t like it… You have a lot of vague threats.” 

"Do you want me to be more specific?" Warren asked, brow arching upward as he considered the flushed face settled against him. "If you don't come to me, I'm going to upgrade whatever implement I was going to use to something worse and you'll get less of a warm-up. I don't want you to think avoiding me is going to get you anything other than a sorer backside to deal with." He was going to have to be more direct. Nathan wasn't an idiot. By nature he was going to ask questions and try and poke loopholes into what Warren laid out for him. 

Nathan’s eyes widened in surprise at Warren’s decree, and he squirmed in a bit of embarrassment.

"I know you saw the list of implement severity. I'm going to go and get a few things this weekend, in anticipation of you doing your best to push the limits and see where we stand. I know you're going to, and that's okay. It's normal." Warren knew it was coming, so it was best to just be prepared. "You're more than welcome to come with me and offer your opinion." He offered, although the thought of Nathan sitting by him while Warren looked through types of paddles was intensely amusing.

Nathan pouted up at Warren mentioning the list. “You’re an asshole.” Nathan muttered into Warren’s shoulder. 

"Maybe, but I'm an asshole that cares about you." Warren countered with a small smile on his face. "I just thought you might like to have some say in which implements I get even if you don't decide which ones get used when." 

The pouting just continued as Nathan burrowed himself more into Warren’s shirt.

"I can practically hear you pouting over there." Warren teased softly. He hoped the gentle ministrations would get Nathan tired enough to rest. Warren was happy to stay like this, but Nathan needed to sleep. He wasn't going to leave until then though, because he didn't want Nathan to think he was in any hurry to get the hell out. Warren squeezed Nathan closer suddenly, a grin on his face. "Who would've guessed you liked to be cuddled."

Nathan flushed when Warren pointed out that he liked to be cuddled. “Shut up…,” Nathan grumbled. “Less talking…. More… Whatever it is you’re doing to my back.” 

"Of course, your highness." Warren chuckled softly, before obligingly continuing to rub Nathan's back and neck.

After several more minutes, Nathan finally managed to speak again. “I’m sorry, you’re putting me to sleep…You can go now.” Nathan’s eyes were barely open.

Warren smiled slightly when Nathan informed him that he could go. He didn’t plan on it. The taller of the pair untangled himself from Nathan's limbs so he could lay Nathan on the bed properly. 

"I'll go in a little bit." Warren said quietly, continuing to rub Nathan's back once the brunette was settled on the mattress. "I'm not in a rush." He didn't have anywhere else to be, and Warren didn't really want to be anywhere else. It was barely dark out, but with how much sleep Nathan had been missing, Warren figured that more was better than anything. "Don't be sorry...you're supposed to be sleeping.”

Nathan just hummed in response to whatever Warren said and stuffed his arms underneath his pillow. It wasn’t too much longer before he was fast asleep, his breath coming out in soft little snores. 

Warren thought about leaving and letting Nathan rest, but instead, he just settled back down and curled up beside his…his sub. Spanking someone took a lot more out of him than Warren realized, and the teenager was exhausted. He glanced at Nathan one final time. 

It was hard to imagine this Nathan as the one Warren had known all these years. On some level, Warren understood it. If he told anyone else Nathan Prescott had submitted for a spanking, they would probably laugh in his face. But what Warren had come to understand over the course of this evening was that Nathan had submitted to worse than a spanking, considering what Jefferson had done.

On some level, Nathan wanted direction. He wanted someone to put up boundaries and keep him from going off the deep end. Warren was going to be that person. Nathan had good in him, covered up by a violent temper and a tendency to disregard other people’s feelings. But Warren had hope. He’d spent the last hour snuggled with Nathan, after all. 

Warren’s final thought before he joined Nathan in sleep was that he hoped no one was in the dorms or Nathan would murder him and they’d have to leave town. But that was something to worry about in the morning.


End file.
